Fabrics

How did ancient peoples weave fabric?

What fibers did they use? How were they prepared and spun into thread?

How did they dye fibers bright colors?

The warp-weighted loom was a common loom in ancient Greece and Italy. 

 In this type of loom, bundles of warp threads are tied to hanging weights called loom weights. 

 The weights pull down the warp threads, allowing the weaver to draw the weft threads over and under. The warp-weighted loom was used almost exclusively to produce woven textiles for dress and decoration. 

The most common shapes of loom weights in ancient Greece were pyramidal, conical, trapezoid, and discoid. They were made of baked clay and usually had one perforation at the top. 

The warp-weighted loom was common throughout Europe and remained in use in Scandinavia into modern times. Evidence of the loom appears in the Neolithic period in central Europe and is depicted in artifacts of Bronze Age Greece. 

Loom weights are a common archaeological find in Greece. They are usually discovered in smaller or larger groups because they were always used and stored in sets. 

 The study of loom weights can offer many insights into ancient Greek textile production. For example, impressions of cloth on the clay may provide clues as to the weave and fineness of the textile. 

Warp-weighted loom - Wikipedia

MythBlast | Penelope’s Loom

BY SAFRON ROSSI AUGUST 9, 2020

When Penelope tells her story to the stranger, who is Odysseus in disguise, she reveals how the loom strategy she used to keep the suitors at bay came from a divine source: “A god from the blue it was inspired me….” (Homer, The Odyssey, trans. Robert Fagles, p. 394) So Penelope set up a great loom and for four years wove daily a shroud for Laertes, and each night unraveled what she had woven. 

Penelope’s weaving, a gift of the goddess Athena, is a motif that bears multivalent meaning in The Odyssey. For one, it can be understood in relation to the poetic narrative of the epic, as any great story is a tale woven into form employing words like threads. We can also think about the weaving motif in relation to Odysseus who is trying to make his way home and is thwarted at various times by Poseidon, and even his own crew, and literally goes backwards, farther away from Ithaca than before — ‘weaving’ his way home. 

Old Testament- Work forbidden on the Sabbath:

    9. Sewing

11. Knotting

12. Untying

24. Combing

34. Shearing

25. Spinning

26. Dyeing

27. Chain-stitching

28. Warping

29. Weaving

30. Unraveling

Fabrics and Colors The Bible provides many references to the types of material used for clothing and to the colors and dyeing agents, as well as to spinning, weaving, and sewing.a The main fabrics mentioned were wool from domesticated animals and linen from the flax plant. Abel was called “a herder of sheep.” (Genesis 4:2) Whether Abel raised sheep for their wool, the Bible does not say. The earliest Biblical reference to fine linen relates to the garments that Pharaoh placed on Joseph in the 18th century B.C.E. (Genesis 41:42) The Bible makes virtually no mention of cotton as a clothing material used by the Jews, but it was used from early times in Middle Eastern lands.

Both flax and wool yielded fine fibers that were spun together to make threads of varying thicknesses. The threads were then woven into pieces of cloth. Threads and woven fabrics were dyed in a wide range of colors. The fabric was then cut to fit the wearer. Items of clothing were often decorated with embroidery, 

interwoven threads of varied colors, adding much to the appearance and value of the garments.​—Judges 5:30.

Blue, purple, and crimson are frequently mentioned in the Bible as dyes for fabrics. The Israelites were commanded to put “a blue string above the fringed edge” of their garments as a reminder of their special relationship with their God, Jehovah. (Numbers 15:38-40) The Hebrew words tekheʹleth, a shade of blue, and ’ar·ga·manʹ, usually translated “purple,” are the colors associated with the high priest’s garments and other decorative items in the tabernacle and temple.

Tabernacle and Temple Fittings The tabernacle in the wilderness​—and later the temple in Jerusalem—​were the center of worship for the Israelites. It is therefore understandable that a great number of details were provided in the Bible in connection with the preparing and outfitting of the tabernacle and of Solomon’s temple. In addition to material and color, we find details regarding the weaving, dyeing, sewing, and embroidering of the tent coverings and curtains.

Red Dye-

In biblical times, red dye was used for religious rituals and was a symbol of wealth and prestige. The Hebrews extracted red dye from an insect found in oak trees. The Egyptians used a type of shellfish to dye clothing red. 

The most important red dye was produced from cochineal insects. This dye ranged from a brilliant hue to a scarlet. A cheaper, commonly used dye was secured from the root of the madder plant. 

The red dye excreted from the Crimson Worm was used in the High Priest's robe. It was also probably used for red dye on ram's skins to create the covering of the Tabernacle in the wilderness. 

Scarlet was one of three principal pigments used in the Temple curtain, appurtenances, and sacred vestments. In some cases, scarlet wool threads were woven together with threads of other colors. Elsewhere, a purely scarlet fabric was required.